Auburn Football Recruiting (June 20): Commits Rolling in After Big Cat

After going almost nine months without securing a commitment on the recruiting trail, Auburn football recruiting has landed six in a month-and-a-half — Tadarian Moultry, Chandler Wooten, Malcolm Askew, Octavius Matthews, Bill Taylor, and Austin Troxell — with three of those coming in the last two weeks.

Playing a major position of need for the Tigers, Moultry (No. 100/Rivals), out of Jackson-Olin in Birmingham, chose Auburn over Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and others on May 6 and is expected to play inside linebacker as well as some outside, including perhaps rush end.

The Tigers would add another linebacker to the commitment list a week later with Wooten (No. 228/ESPN) from Georgia’s North Cobb High School. He was being evaluated by Michigan, Ohio State, and more, and his relationships with future position coach Travis Williams and area recruiter Tim Horton were key in the Tigers beating out his other favorite, Tennessee.

After listing Auburn as his leader on May 22 and then visiting the campus for at least five days, ending with the annual Big Cat recruiting event on Saturday, June 4, Askew (No. 118/ESPN) couldn’t help but commit to the Tigers coaching staff. The McAdory High product has a strong relationship with Wesley McGriff, who will be his position coach in the secondary. In addition, he will prove to be one of the most relentless recruiters on the Auburn commitment list.

The next day, Matthews flipped his commitment from Louisville to the Tigers. The running back, who will be transferring from Itawamba Community College in Mississippi, played for North Jackson in Stevenson, Ala., in high school. He joins Alaric Williams (No. 107/247Sports) as Auburn tailback pledges, though the Tigers are officially recruiting Matthews as an athlete.

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A long snapper from Tuscaloosa, Bill Taylor, didn’t take long to accept an offer from Auburn. His decision took less than 24 hours, coming on June 13. Kohl’s Professional Camps — which focuses on kicking, punting, and snapping — rates Taylor as the second-best long snapper in the country. Kohl’s calls Taylor “the most explosive 2017 snapper” and “one of the largest and most athletic.”

On Saturday, during an on-campus visit with his entire family, the Tigers landed a gigantic verbal from Austin Troxell (No. 74/247Sports) out of Madison Academy. This was an enormous in-state battle between Auburn and Alabama, with the Tigers offering him first but with the offensive tackle growing up a fan of the Crimson Tide. Troxell cited the fit, atmosphere, coaches, and players as reasons for his choice.

Of the utmost importance is this: He says his recruitment is finished and that he will only officially visit Auburn. A major credit should go to Tim Horton — he has recruited Troxell for three years.

Another rock-solid Tiger commit, five-star Calvin Ashley (No. 14/247Sports), is a big fan of Troxell’s commitment, with the two being potential tag team partners as future “bookends” of the Auburn offensive line:

Elsewhere on the trail

→ Auburn isn’t satisfied with two elite offensive line commitments: On May 14, Herb Hand had a Florida target visit in Nick Brahms (No. 69/247Sports) of Navarre, where he was offered in-person. Following an outstanding Big Cat experience, Auburn took the clear-cut lead in his recruitment. Brahms was back on campus Friday. While Duke, Miami, and Stanford are also contenders, North Carolina and Tennessee may be the main competition — but all trail Auburn.

→ Auburn was running third behind Georgia and Tennessee, in that order, for wide receiver target Jeremiah Holloman (No. 92/ESPN) of Covington, Ga. But that was before Big Cat, which was his third visit to Auburn this year. Holloman ended up staying the night, which was not his initial plan, and participated in a camp the next day. He is fond of potential position coach Kodi Burns, and some believe Auburn may have gone from third to, at worst, tied for the lead in Holloman’s recruitment following Big Cat.

→ Also at receiver, junior college target Brandon Martin, an ex-LSU signee, even before his Big Cat visit and despite never being on the Auburn campus, had the Tigers at the top of his list of favorites. It should come as no surprise then that his in-person introduction to the Auburn football program had him thinking about committing. Martin held off, though, and looks to visit other schools to be sure of his final decision.

→ The Tigers were believed to be the leader for top tight end target Tre’ McKitty (No. 246/ESPN) before Big Cat, and, after another strong visit, not much has changed. The primary competition, though, still appears to be Florida and Oregon. He plans to commit in early July at The Opening. 

→ Monty Rice (No. 287/ESPN) of Madison, Ala., has seemingly become a bigger target for the Tigers coaching staff as time has marched on, and that looks to continue following a positive visit for Big Cat and with a growing relationship with Travis Williams. Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, and LSU are other contenders. While Auburn may or may not receive an official visit, Rice plans to return before making a commitment to any school.

→ Speaking of linebackers, the recruitment of Will Ignont (No. 114/Rivals) is, to put it simply, all over the place. He was long thought an Auburn lean before announcing that he had silently committed to a school, with everything pointing to that school being not Auburn but Alabama — something that was later confirmed. He visited the Tigers for Big Cat and has since visited Alabama and Georgia. Days after Big Cat, Ignont announced that a decision would come during the week between Auburn, Alabama, and Georgia. Mere hours later, that was canceled. Now, just a week after that, he says Georgia, Michigan, and Florida State lead.

This is one recruitment that nobody should believe until Signing Day.

→ Morgan County High defensive end M.J. Webb (No. 196/Rivals) from Madison, Ga., also had a great Big Cat experience, his latest of multiple trips to the Auburn campus. In fact, he named the Tigers his leader, with South Carolina likely second. Having a similar background to his potential future position coach, Rodney Garner, is something Webb sees as a positive.

→ A major junior college defensive line prospect enjoyed Big Cat: Isaiah Buggs (5-star/Rivals). Now, Buggs plans to be back for an official visit. However, one thing working against the Tigers in this recruitment is that Buggs is originally from Ruston, La. — and getting a Louisiana kid with an LSU offer to leave the state is never easy.

→ Auburn looks to be ramping up their recruitment of Ryan Johnson (No. 133/ESPN), a defensive end out of Mobile. Johnson loved his Big Cat visit and believes he is a priority for the Tigers staff. In addition to growing up an Auburn fan, he feels like the school was the first to have real confidence in him.

→ Last Sunday, California running back and Alabama pledge Najee Harris (No. 1/247Sports, Scout) made a visit to the Auburn campus. Little is known regarding the visit — but it can only be seen as a positive for the Tigers that it happened at all.

Next: Bowl Game Dream Matchups Pits Auburn Against North Carolina in Belk Bowl

→ Devan Barrett (No. 71/Rivals) out of Tampa visited Auburn last week and the Tigers are clearly, at worst, tied atop his list of leaders and likely in the lead. Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee are also contending.